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Dom moves as if he’s going to Tomasso’s aid, and I hold out my hand. “Don’t,” I mouth to him.

Maybe if Dom kept it in his fucking pants for once, we wouldn’t be in this situation. I’ve always been jealous that my brothers could do who and what they wanted. While I was trapped away, saved for a special occasion. A bargaining chip. But everything I do is for a purpose. For the bigger picture that I see, that I’m so fucking close to having.

Just a bunch of cowboys stand in my way.

Tomasso falls to the ground as Matteo moves him away from my car; I open up the driver's door.

“If either of you mentions this to my father, I’ll come back and kill you both. Do you understand?” I say to them before I get behind the wheel.

They both nod, even if Tomasso is now turning grey. I can smell their fear. And they know I will, without hesitation, find a way to ensure they don’t wake up again. The only reason he’s still breathing is that my father specifically told me not to murder him.

I get into the leather seat and turn on the ignition, pulling away, not even glancing back in the rearview mirror.

“You really have to stop fucking Tomasso, Dom. He’s a problem. And a traitor.”

He runs a hand over his stubble. “It was a one-time thing.”

I side-eye him as I come to the stop sign. “Once? Once that I walked in on. Don’t lie to me.”

He taps his fingers against his thigh, like he always does when he’s lying. “Fine. Once a week for the last four months.”

I blow out a breath.

“His asshole must really be tight,” I mutter.

Dom laughs. “Yeah. He also sucks cock like a fucking whore.”

I choke on spit as I laugh. At least I get to live vicariously through Dom and his sexcapades.

“Elaborate. How does one suck cock like a whore?”

I need to be able to sleep with Colten without embarrassing myself in the process. I refuse to let him see me as vulnerable. So, I’ve researched. I’m a woman who likes to be prepared, and I will not let Colten use this against me. I might be a virgin bride, but there is nothing innocent about me.

“Gianna. No. Absolutely not. We are not having this conversation again.”

I roll my eyes. “Light me a cigarette.”

“No. You need to quit.”

I hold out my hand, flexing my fingers. “You think smoking is going to put me in a grave before the cowboy does?”

“Don’t say that,” he snaps.

Fucking hell, this is going to be the longest drive of my life. I’m only driving because I don’t trust the Sterlings not to send up a rocket launcher on my jet as we land.

And I love my car. It’s coming with me.

“It’s the truth. Now light me a cigarette or tell me how to suck dick like a whore. I gotta do something to make my husband not kill me.”

That earns me half a laugh. “Okay. Well, yeah, if you get that right, chances are he will keep you just for that.”

“Great. Exactly what I aspired to be, a pet on a ranch.”

I grip the steering wheel. That’s the constant battle as a woman: no matter how powerful you are, there will always be a man out there who thinks he can outplay you, can belittle you, just because he has a dick.

That isn’t me. That isn’t to say I won’t use their own fucked up mentality against them.

“Read more of those romance books I told you about; they’re pretty much an instruction manual, G. And much less awkward for me.”